@Puolikuu ------------
Rhiannon sat at the tavern with her feet crossed atop the wooden table in the corner. Her chair was leaned on the two back legs, creaking every time it made a single movement. She glared around the room, observing the loud and rowdy behavior of her crew as they succumbed to their drunken stupors.
She preferred to keep her wits about her. Then again...
RK threw back the two shots she had in front of her: that made a total of five shots. She slammed the chair down, standing up. Her crew immediately gave their attention, though not stopping the chaos. Walking over to the bar counter, RK squeezed her eyes shut. A strange drunk whistled in a lengthy and slightly off-tune manner, slapping her ass much harder than he should've.
Whipping around, she landed a firm right hook to the man's face. His buddies got up and went to fight, so RK's crew snapped into action. They took the pig's friends down easily. She punched the drunk a few more times, his inebriation dulling the pain. She kicked him in the jaw, grabbing her dagger from her boot. "Try to touch another woman," she spat, slamming the dagger through the top of the man's hand and into the table.
He cried out in pain, and she yanked her dagger back, wiping his blood on his shirt.
"Clean yourself up. You're a mess." Clapping her hands together, RK looked at her crew. "Alright, ya bloody bastards! Back to the ship! We set sail tomorrow, and I don't need any of ya fuckin up the schedule!"
"Aye, Captain," they all said in slurred mumbles. The lot walked out of the tavern, and RK pulled the collar of one who was passed out. He tripped and followed the other crew members.
RK was the last to leave, standing outside of the tavern to have a short smoke. She dropped it on the ground, snuffing it out with her boot. Just as she was about to start for her ship, her green eyes locked onto someone.
He had bumped into something again, this time a barrel. Just his luck. He wasn't in a bad mood at all, "Way to go Keithen another thing to bump into. " He says sarcastically and zaps it a bit and the air around for a quick jolt. Vibrstions came back to him., not that he was completely blind or anything yet he just has night blindness. But he had a way of seeing when the time cams at least!
Keithen was heading to an in for the night after vositingbhis grandmas grave and putting some flowers, food and drink offering as well as cleaned it as best he could and put some of his crystals on it. This was his fifth year making the journey as no one was around that he knew of to take care of her grave. It was the least he could do for someone who had helped him through such a rough time and did not live for much longer afterward due to an illness but she loved him dearly and he loved her like his own mother.
All he wanted to do was get to the inn and crash there.
As he passed a tavern he smelt the faint him of blood and drink plus someone smoking who he waved to. He wasn't to worried about it as it was a tavern ad bar fights, drinking and all that not so fun stuff happened there.
Suddenly a small owl landed on his shoulder with a little letter tied to it's leg. The owl handed it to him and he ran his fingers past all the intracet words and dots. Smiling with happiness he makes a tiny pen out of crystal while walling and repliesbin quick writing and speed before sending the owl off with his letter. It'll be a good few weeks before he gets the next reply but it was worth it. He continues on walking to the inn humming a quick tune and smiling.
It wasn't a someone that caught her eye, but rather a something. Particularly, a something that a someone made apparently magical created. A pen; a crystal pen to be specific. A crystal that had suddenly been made into a pen, to be even more so.
RK felt a sinister smile cross her brightly painted lips. She loved shiny things. She especially loved magical shiny things.
Glancing at the Liberator, the woman arched one brow and looked at the clumsy man, as he made his way to the inn with a light energy to his heart.
I'm about to turn your whole world upside down, RK thought. She bit her bottom lip and started his way.
With her hand waving above her head, she limped over to the man. "Excuse me?" She called. "Excuse me? Sir?" RK extended the scarf over her hair, like a head covering, and she held her long jacket closed to hide her sword and her whip. "Sir, please." She pretended to be almost breathless. "I need your help. Please."
Keithen stops and turns around squniting only able to make out a shadow of the woman asking for help. She seemed old to him, "What is it ma'am?" He walk up to her looking a bit worried. She sounded out of breath as if something unspeakable happened to her.
"Ma'am try to catch your breath I don't want you to get light headed." Now that he was closer she definetly seemed old to him, wear it was that maybe a scarf she wore but she definetly seemed old to him. Very old. He didn't even notice her "limp" so he had to go off the sound of her voice and shadow puppet. He was still upbeat but worried ober the granny's needs.
RK looked around, seeing that the only other person nearby was passed out on the ground with a leaking bottle of alcohol next to him.
She grabbed at the young man's arm, breathing heavily. "Someone took my necklace, sir! It was the last thing I had of my husband." Fake tears started rolling down her cheeks. "I tried to get it back, but he kicked my knee! I-I can barely stand, sir! Please, sir, you must help me!"
She belt down to run her knee for dramatic effect, secretly drawing her dagger from inside of the boot. Hobbling around to the other side of the young man, RK let go of her jacket and stood straight, placing the dagger around the man's neck.
She sniffed, wiping the tears from her cheeks and fixing her scarf to be back to normal. "You must help me," she repeated, mocking her own voice. RK laughed, her voice returning to normal. "Oh, sweetie." She bit his ear seductively. "It's not like you have a choice either way."
Keithen feels the dagger touch his neck, "Fuck." He had no choice obviously. What got him was the fact that she bit his ear. To bad he didn't go that way besides he had a boyfriend already. "So the old granny was really a bandit." He was definetly in a bad position with that knife on his neck, one wrong move and she would send him spraying everywhere. Keithen felt that in the blade itself and her body language from what he could sense.
"Your right shadow puppet granny. I definetly don't have a choice." He lifts his hands in surrender. He was going to find a way out of this ine way or another. His magic was to dangerous to use in this situation and he couldn't see. Still calm and happy Keithen smiles, hopefully that damned owl was still fluttering around. Atleast he got to see Aiden was okay and that was what counted for the best of his day and night even if they were probably miles apart.
"Shadow puppet granny?" RK repeated, her voice clearly communicating how insulted she felt.
Who the fuck did this bitch think he was? RK knew who she was, and she sure as hell knew what she did to people, especially men. Why wasn't he kissing the ground she walked on?
"Bandit's are disgusting," she said, dagger turning over slowly so he could feel every little bit of the blade. "I'm a bloody pirate, you shit."
It was a fear technique more than anything else. She had no plans to spill his guts. Well, at least not until he spilled his guts. RK pushed him forward, walking towards her ship. If things were going to get messy, she didn't feel like dealing with pesky guards or nosy townsfolk.
"Let's go somewhere a bit more private. I've some questions I want answered."
Oh questions? What kind of questions? Keithen got a great idea laughing, "Your kind of questions regard the size pants I wear I wager. To nad you aren't my type!" He sent a tiny electric trickle through the air. To many people were around still. Though he did not enjoy the blade against his flesh, no one did for that matter it just brought too many bad memories flooding back for a minute, nefore he regains his composure.
"Pirate, bandit, same thing. All you guys do is steal, murder and all that fun stuff except on a ship saying ARRGGGH!" He imitated a pirates hook with his finger. "I kid I kid!"
If they were not in the middle of town things would definetly have been a different, cocky bitch would have been crystal by now or zapped to death. Once they reach and ship then maybe they would be in for a treat but not now. "Well miss Pirate Shadow Puppet, you must ne taking me to a ship. The docks I think." He says so loudly enough for people to hear hipefully that is if they weren't drunk on the road. On of the down sides of a seaside town is that everyone was always drunk atnight for the most part.
RK smirked, an entertained hum escaping her lips. "You really think you got all this figured out, huh?"
She felt some kind of magical energy emanating from him. Something... Something that was going to make her rich. The woman loosened her grip on the handle of the dagger, jerking it slightly against the side of his neck. It drew blood, but it wasn't nearly enough to cause him any real damage. Basically as though he'd cut himself shaving, but enough to tell him she wasn't messing around.
"I don't steal or murder," she said, pushing him along. "No, no, I keep my hands clean. Well, unless you're offering fun stuff." RK rolled her eyes at her own comment. She enjoyed her wit, but it was lost on this stuffy bitch.
As soon as Keithen finished with his loud announcement, a drunkard raised his mug in the air to them. "Lucky bastard!" The drunk slurred. "I wan go tah duh ships!"
RK burst into laughter. "Oh, you pitiful maggot! Nobody can hear you! In fact..." She took a step back, suddenly slamming her boot into the back of Keithen's left leg. "I'm sick of hearing you. You mock me again, you'll earn yourself your very own pirate peg leg."
Keithen shut his trap tripping a bit when the woman slam her boot into the back of his leg. He felt a bit of a sting on his neck as though he has shaven as well. Leave it to the drinks with people. The drunks were almost always useless no matter what they did, flop around like a fish out of water or just laid their like.... A lump of dough.
They were getting further from the area that he was forced to the blade. "Yes ma'am." He saw a slim chance even if it was very slim. He held his leg for a second grabbing a small dagger from it tossing it up his sleeve in the blink of an eye. Practice made perfect after all. He was starting to lose a bit of hope now. The dagger was plan B Plan A was still an option in his books. For the time being he remained quiet.
Shoving him along, RK brought Keithen onto the Liberator. She was a proud ship that RK liberated from another person. The captain kept her knife on the man, walking onto the ship.
"Captain on board!" Her quartermaster shouted.
Several of the crewmen turned their attention to RK, while a few others were in a drunken stupor. "I am not to be disturbed," RK said to the strong man who stood at the helm. Her quartermaster nodded, as RK brought Keithen into her private quarters. Some dirty things must've been going through their heads, but that didn't matter.
RK locked the door to the captain's quarters and released Keithen. She sat with her feet crossed on her large desk. That seemed to be a common position for her, and she twirled the dagger on the desk.
"Tell me," she said. "How'd you do that little trick with the crystal and the pen?"
That twirling dagger was so annoying, the sound of it running over the desk over and over again. To bad little patch eye wouldn't like the response, "Sorry but I literally can't remember ma'am. It comes naturally for me." Keithen shrugs swinting at the area around him.
Yep they were definitely pirate and judging by where they were granny meant business. Still if he did remember he would not tell her in the first place particularly with how she got him on the ship. All she had to so as ask nicely and both of them wouldn't be there. "Amnesia and all that not so great part of my life. " He smiles pointing towards his temple.
He's enjoying himself too much, she thought, putting her feet down and gripping her dagger.
"Can't remember?" She repeated in a pouty tone, sticking out her bottom lip. RK stood, her fists on her desk. "Amnesia is a cute excuse." She walked around her desk, pushed him onto another chair, and straddled his legs.
"Sweetie, you don't know what the not so nice part of life is." She kissed him, biting his lower lip just a bit too hard. "It's a shame you can't be convinced in the typical way," she said breathily, as she carefully cut his shirt open down the entire front. RK pushed off of him. "Means I have to get kinda creative."
Exposed chest, meet dagger. SLICE!
Gods all mighties the pain! He flinches biting down on his teeth. For once he swore at his heightening sense of feeling and touch. He felt blood drip down his chest in little crimson beads.
"Listen lady I seriously can't remember jack shit about a gap in my past okay?" He also just bought that shirt a month ago, it was worth nothing to him at this point. Granny was crazy if she thoughtthst pain could bring his memories back, "After that granny helped me get through things and the she passed and normal things happened in life okay? I'd really like to tell you at this point but i seriously have no memory again is just happens." He was being completely truthful to crazy granny.
He brough his hand to his chest to feel the extent of the gash, it wasn't to bad from what he could tell but it was meant to cause pain. This was going to be a long night. Not to mention his lip hurt a bit also. He relized the room as nicely lit as well. He could just see his captors features. This was good enough for him. Next time she gets close enough to him he would slide the dagger out and atleast try to stab granny.
He smiled, this bitch was no joke but still he couldn't help but laugh a bit. He has tried to commit suicide more than, got high on drugs and got into some rough trouble this was nothing compared to what he went through back then just yet. If granny was anything like Kilel he would have known.
RK clenched her teeth, spinning behind him. She put her hand on his throat with the dagger between two of her fingers against his neck. It was pressed more firmly against him that time, so it was clear she meant what she was about to say. "You'd better figure out a way to remember before I slit your skinny throat right here."
She took a step back, breathing deeply to regain her composure. As a suave and confident pirate, RK tried her best to avoid little outbursts like that.
"Sorry about that," she said calmly, walking back around. His laughter before was what threw her off a bit. What about this was funny? "How about this?" She started, sitting on her desk and sticking the dagger into the wood. "Tell me your name and what you actually do remember?"
Granny actually had common sense! Hopefully she understood it would take seemingly forever for him to remember anything about that gap in his memory if he was lucky at all. He refrained from saying anything snarky or anything that'll get him hurt anymore. He was in a terrible place and he just needed to ride it out and all would hopefully be fine.
"Keithen... Got no last name I could remember. " Keithen says quietly. He sighs closing his eyes to think, "All I remember is a fall then woke up to my grandma. Life things happened got into drugs and became suicidal and depressed." He points to his scarred wrists. "Got into a gang but granny helped me out of it. She died a few years ago. Meet someone I love and then name here after visiting grandma's grave on the way home. "
Keithen shrugs, "Again the other stuff with crystals came naturally." He smiles nonchalantly laughing still as the memories coursing through his mind.
"Ya know what, Keithen?" She said. "I believe you."
RK stood, walking around the cabin with a slight scowl. She wasn't lying. Something about him was just kind of honest: that pissed her off. Honest people were annoying because you could always count on them to lie somehow. At least liars owned who they were.
"Comes naturally, huh?"
If the crystal magic came naturally to him, RK decided she could still make use of it. It wouldn't be in the way she'd originally planned, but hey, things change.
"How would you like a job?" She asked. "Well, it wouldn't be much of a job. More like...a captive guest. See, here's the thing. You have a fun gift, one that can make both of us, me more than you, very rich. I like being rich. Upside for you? You get protection for the rest of your life, and you get to travel the world."
Traveling the world? On a pirate ship? Hell no to that! He was happy on dry land and his senses would go wonky. "No can do lady. First off I already am a captive. Second off I don't need protection from Pirate nor anyone else." He smiles, "Finally I am more stable on land and would never work for someone who put a blade to my throat and ruined my shirt then cut my chest. "
He laughs a bit glaring at the pirate. If she had asked nicely other than shoving a dagger at his neck and pushing him a board then things might have been different. "Besides greed can be your un doing my pirate friend." He laughs some more remembering Kill again, "I know first hand with my old drug supplier! Might be a different story if you had been nicer. "
RK waved her finger side to side. "Oh, baby," she started. "I was gonna be nicer, but someone wasn't interested!"
With a slight smirk, she seated herself again on her desk. His refusal didn't mean shit to her. Like Rhiannon Knight, pirate captain of the S.S. Liberator, would really take the request of a worm like the one sitting in front of her.
"Well, here's another little tidbit of information for ya." She freed the whip from her belt, running her fingers along the leather with her tongue between her grinning lips. "I don't take no for an answer!" RK whirled around, snapping the whip on Keithen's chest. She hopped forward, snapping it onto his wrists enough to wrap around them.
A quick twirl of her own wrist made the whip tie into a handy little knot that bound his hands together. "Now, I hate to do things the hard way, but you're really not giving me any choice! I know I gave you the option before, but hey! You said it yourself: you're already a captive."
Keithen gasps feeling the sting on his chest, "Fuck." He glares daggers at her but relized that electricity was zapping from his hands and calmed down. This bitch was complete nuts. He smiles, "I'd rather see be here seeing you crazy mug than compared to Kilel... oh wait I prefer his method of things." Keithen busts out laughing. "Again, you can keep cutting me, whipping me or even threatening me but darling common! I thought a pirate like you knew better ways of torture."
He looks at the whip, he wanted to come off as a crazy person atleast hopefully that'll change things a bit... or make them worse but he needed her off guard. "Oh wait... you aren't into the drugs either are yah." He sighs, "Pumpkin you can do anything to me and you still won't get what you want in the very least you'd have a pissed off soilder on your little flaggy tail if I do die here or disappear."
He cracks his neck, "I know lets play a game! How about the one where you take a knife and you drive it between your fingers one at a time." He brighten up, "Oh how about we play where my booty. Bottom line pumpkin, your not going to get my crystals anytime soon." He waves his finger side to side as well in complete defiance.
Her eyes lit up, seeing the electricity coming from his hands. Perfect, she thought. Almost everything Keithen had said after RK saw the magic went in one ear and out the other for the pirate captain.
"I like you, ya know that? And not just for what you're gonna do for me. You got fire."
She yanked him to the ground, pressing her boot on the wounds from the knife and the whip. RK left the cabin momentarily, seeing the night sky over the water. It was her favorite view. "Malynda!" She shouted.
A small girl, barely five feet tall, with red hair hurried over. "Captain?" She said.
"I need you." They walked into back into the cabin again, seeing Keithen still on the ground. RK crouched next to him with a grin. "Keithy-boy, I want you to meet someone. See, I absolutely do know better ways of torture, but I was waiting to see just how your magic would express itself. Would it be dangerous? Or would it be harmless?" She scoffed. "Well, clearly, you don't exactly have friendly magic! That's where little red over there comes in."
RK smacked her lips and looked at the girl, jerking her head to Keithen. Malynda walked over, sitting behind Keithen on the couch.
"Malynda here is my little secret. I can't have you fighting me with magic while I'm torturing you! That would just be rude of you! So, she's here to makes sure you don't do that! Malynda, this is Keithen. He's my prisoner who's gonna make the lot of us rich. Keithen, this is Malynda. She's my Adhara."
Keithen waves, "Nice to meet yah Malay." He smiles warmly. Okay time to finish this because if secret weapon got that kind of magic. He sighs, "Can't I at least get a new shirt?" He laughs a bit nervously.
"Second of all granny puppet," His hands zapped a bit more or so he thought. "You might not want to make fucking promises you won't be able to keep in the first place granny." He points at the red haired girl, "Otherwise they might not be too happy." He chirps.
Where the lady put her boots on his chest injuries stung a good bit. She defiantly didn't was them often but who did! Though he was curious on what ginger could do. Keithen smiles again and sends a stream of electiricty towards RK. Only to find it did work. Fear went through him for a second, if the lights went out he would be blind and have no way of seeing or feeling the air. "What the hell is she?!" He had no idea what a Adhara was nor even heard of them. This Bitch was full of surirse that's for sure.
"Malynda," the red-haired girl spat. "And no! You have to keep that shirt." She looked briefly at RK for confirmation.
The pirate captain slapped Keithen across the face, then grabbed it with one hand, squeezing his cheeks angrily. "Call my 'granny' one more time and see what happens," RK hissed.
She stood, watching her prisoner actually try to use his magic against her. With an arrogant laugh, RK put her hands on her hips. "Oh, Keithy, baby!" She gave an exaggerated sigh. "Mommy doesn't like her baby misbehaving!" She crouched in front of him. "Didn't I just tell you that Malynda is... Oh... You don't know what that means, do you? Well, my beautiful, little girl here is an Adhara. That means there's no magic anything from you while she's around."
His fear was palpable, and RK finally felt she had him. "Do you want me to do anything, captain?" Malynda asked.
"Just sit there and look gorgeous," RK said, glaring at Keithen with a smirk. "That's all you need to do to keep this bastard in line."
Keithen scoffed, he was starting to lose hope, no magic ment no seeing well a night nor no keeping up the spell which kept his eyesight from fading even more. He sighs, "So what shes some sort of monster?" He smiles, "Thats a nasty trick you got there lady I must say." He makes his hand into a fist wanting to flick her off majorly.
"Whats next now? Rip out my eyes? Bring out a vampire, out a curse on me," He smiles making ooo noses, "Oooooo Im a ghoooost!" He laughs at himself. "To bad about the shirt also my boyfriend gave it to me as a safe travels. That obviously didn't work."
He looks around, this is going to hurt like shit. He grabs his knife from up his sleeve and throws it at Malynda then grabs another knife and points it at his stomach and anither one at his wrists, "I'm not used to you dead am I?" He felt alive and better go out with a bang.
Malynda swiftly dodged the flying knife, but got cut on her upper arm. "Hey!" She shouted, picking up his knife and bringing her hand back to hit him in the head.
RK whistled sharply, getting her officer's attention. "That not how we treat our guests," she purred.
The knives that Keithen then held against his own body... That was an interesting change of pace. RK took the knife from Malynda. It was true... Keithen was no use to her dead, but letting him go would just piss her off. If he was dead, it would be as though she'd never met him.
She pulled over a chair and sat on it backwards, her legs straddling the back with her arms resting on the top of the back. She sighed with a shrug, gently scratching the back of her neck with the knife, then tossing it onto her desk. RK glared at him. "Do it."
Smiling he glares back, "Memories are nicnice aren't they?" He slashes his wrist with the knife feeling the familiar pain and stinging that came with it as well as blood pooling from it and dripping down his wrist from the inical cut.
"To wealth and riches." He makes a cheering motion with his bloodied knife and stabs himself with the second one in the gut, he smiles, "Thought I wouldn't do it?" He yanks out the knife tosses both them to the side and looks at the blood, "Tick tok tick tok." He laughs slightly.
The wound did hurt though in his gut, he'd have to fake he was dead then hopefully they'd throw him over board so he could swim to shore and heal himself some. If not then tough shit he was a conner if the wounds were bad enough. If Karo was here though he would have known what to do in such a situation. He missed him terribly, "What's your next move capt'? "
RK watched stoically as the man drew blood in multiple places on his body. If he wanted to die, he was definitely doing a good job! Either way, if he thought she was bluffing, she wasn't. The captain didn't bluff. Ever.
When asked what her next move was, she stayed quiet. Malynda was seething at that point, itching to take him out then and there. RK simply nodded to her. The red haired girl took her own dagger and slammed the pommel into the back of Keithen's head, making the man fall limply.
"Malynda, find Yanni and a nurse or whatever he needs. I want this man back to working condition because he still has a few things to give me." The captain walked out of her quarters with Malynda whistling for the nurse to take Keithen to the doctor's quarters. RK stood at the helm, running her fingers along the wood. "Time to set sail, Milton."
Her quartermaster stood straight, looking at the half-drunk crew. "Shape up, ya bastards!" He shouted. "We set off now! Raise the anchor and lower the top sail! Let's catch this wind before it passes us over!"
A nice warm dream was all he wanted to last a bit longer. He was sitting there at his grandmas table again with her dog. They were enjoying a nice meal of seafood and fruits. The shellfish and fish all coated in seasoning herbs and butter and to quickly the dream was ruined with the sound of others as Keithen started to wake up groaning slowly feeling the pain rise in his head and torso.
Looking uo he sees he was laying on a table. As his vison clears he sees someone leaning over him stitching his stab wounds up. It hurt a lot but he could handle it. "How long has it been?" He asks wit a hoarse voice and he realized he was parched. "Where are we?" He asks drousy. His head was screaming at him making him close his eyes to keep from lookimg at any lights.
Suddenly he remembers where he is and sighs, "Gods." He smiles, it failed. He felt the way the world was differemt below him. Keithen was in not shape to fight back, his body might have lost lots of blood and from what he could remember someone hit him on the back of his head. Either way he didn't feel like using magic or trying to get away until he was better. "So doc... hows your day going?" He asks tiredly.